Insanity

Question 1

Acts that sets out orders judges can give

Answer 1

Criminal Procedure (Insanity and Unfitness to Plead) Act
Domestic, Violence, Crime and Victims Act

Question 2

Orders a judge can give when special verdict is rendered

Answer 2

Hospital Order
Supervison Order
Absolute Dischafrge

Question 3

R v Horseferry Rd Magistrates Court ex parte K

Answer 3

Defence available to both Indictable and Summary Offences

Question 4

DPP v H

Answer 4

Defence unavailable to Strict Liabilty offences

Question 5

M’Naughten Rules

Answer 5

Defect of Reason
Disease of Mind

D doesnt know either:

Nature or Quality of his Act
Or
The Act was legally wrong

Question 6

R v Clarke 1972

Answer 6

Absentmindedness does not reach the level of insantity

Question 7

R v Kemp 1957

Answer 7

Charged under OAPA for assualting his wife
Claimed due to arteriosclerosis.
Court held insantity applied to phsyical conditions as well
Defence VALID

Question 8

R v Sullivan

Answer 8

During eplietic seizure, D kicked v in head
Charged OAPA
Epilepsy is internal illness
Insantiy not Automatism

Question 9

R v Hennessy

Answer 9

Arrested driving stolen car
Determined to be suffering from HYPERglacemic episode as a result of not taking his insulin for a week
Court held insanity is the defence
as Internal

Question 10

R v Quick

Answer 10

D failed to eat after taking his insulin as required
Court held this was external factor and thus automatism

Question 11

R v Burgess

Answer 11

Wouding
Was sleepwalking
Court adopted Canadian SC Rabey v The Queen
Sleepwalking is internal - Insanity

Question 12

R v Oye

Answer 12

D arrested for affray.
At station police noticed acting strange - Drinking from toilet
Turned violent and assualted police officers
Suffering pyschotic break and thought police were agents of evil spirits
Not Guilty

Question 13

R v Windle 1952

Answer 13

Upon arrest said “Suppose theyll hang me for this” clearly knew of the illegailty of his actions

Question 14

Evaluation - M’Naughten Rules

Answer 14

Out of date - written in 1843
Mackay & Reuber Report 2007:
- Law lags behind psychiatric understanding of mental illness
- Label of insane is outdated
- Case law is incoherent

Question 15

Evaluation - Social Stigma

Answer 15

Label of insane has large stigma
and during cases of Sleepwalking - Burgess and Diabetes - Hennessy doesnt apply

Question 16

Budern of Proof

Answer 16

Placed on Defendant
- possible breach of A.6 ECHR

Question 17

Overlap with diminished responsibility

Answer 17

Majority of those charged with murder plead DR and leads to determite sentence and Manslaughter convction
Wheres Insantiy leads to indefinite detention at Pyschiatric institution

Question 18

Reform

Answer 18

Butler Commitee 1975 - Verdict of Not Guilty on evidence of mental disorder
Law Commission Paper 2013 - Rules should be D lacked the capacity to:
-Make Rational judgement
Understand wrongess
Control their body